Did Chanukah happen years ago or is it happening now? Looking at the events today, you start to wonder. The story of a little light pushing away an empire of darkness, human sensibility defying terror and brute force, life and growth overcoming destruction—the battle is very much alive within each of us, and in the world outside of us. The victory of light over darkness is the cosmic megadrama—the ongoing story of all that is. This victory occurs at every winter solstice and at the dawn of each day. It is found in every decision to do good in the face of evil, to be kind where there is cruelty and to build where others destroy. Chanukah is more than a holiday; it is an eight-day spiritual journey. Many people know the story of Chanukah, the triumph of a small of group of Jews who challenged their Greek oppressors and a little oil that miraculously kindled the lights of the menorah for eight days. The spirit of Chanukah is experienced when we apply its joy, warmth and light to our lives—not only in our homes with our loved ones, but with the entire world.

Blessings 1, 2 & 3

The festival of Chanukah is about light overcoming darkness. Our world is currently experiencing a particularly dark time. We have become apprehensive, even about opening the letters in our mailbox. Our sons, daughters, friends and neighbors are half way around the world, fighting an enemy that has no borders.
“The soul of man is a lamp of G-d” (Proverbs 23:27). Our challenge, whether we are on the front lines or fighting rush hour at home, is to bring light into the world. The reason the Chanukah candles are lit after nightfall is to remind us that even in our darkest moments, we have the potential to illuminate if we kindle a flame.

Antiochus IV, called Epiphanies (the Illustrious) by his friends, and Epimanes (the Madman) by his enemies, did not build ghettos, force conversions or set out to exterminate the Jewish people, as Pharaoh or Nebuchadnezzar had plotted before him. Neither did he intend to destroy their culture. Instead, he outlawed the observance of specific mitzvot (Divine actions), predicting that when the Jews would cease to observe these precepts, it would lead to the end of Judaism as a unique religion and nation. He wanted the Jews to be just another conquered tribe. And so, he declared war against their souls.

Blessings 1 & 2

The Greeks were great philosophers. They acknowledged the mitzvot as part of a great culture, and the Torah as a great work of Jewish literature. What they would not tolerate was that “G-d, Creator of the Universe, ordained the practice of these mitzvot.” In the words of the prayer recited on Chanukah, the Greeks set out to have the Jews forget “[G-d’s] Torah,” and to cease observing “[G-d’s] commandments.”
Whenever we do a mitzvah, we become G–d’s autograph on His masterpiece, declaring for all that this is not a jungle where the strong devour the weak. It is a beautiful garden, filled with the light of its Creator.
Hellenism, the Greek culture, meant accepting its pagan gods and Greek philosophy. Jews who were sympathetic to the Hellenistic view quickly gained power and prominence. But many Jews remained loyal to their beliefs. Eliezer, a Kohen (Jewish priest), was executed because he refused to abandon his Jewish faith. Many Jewish women were murdered for having their sons circumcised. Seven sons of Hanna, a simple Jewish woman, were put to death for refusing to bow down to pagan gods.
The big trouble for the Seleucids began in the village of Mod’in, when an aged Kohen cried out, “Whoever is for G-d, join me!” Thus, the fight for religious freedom began.

Blessings 1 & 2

King Solomon wrote, “Everything has its season … A time to be born, a time to die … A time for war, a time for peace” (Ecclesiastes). In Judaism, peace is the ultimate goal. Yet, if one is being attacked, Jewish law forbids a passive stance. Peace and the sanctity of human life requires, at times, that one must defend one’s self, one’s family and one’s country.
Despite the fact that the Maccabees were fewer in strength and in numbers, they stood up against the oppressor with complete faith in G-d’s mercy. One lesson of Chanukah is that when we resolve to introduce spirituality into our lives, G-d assists us well beyond our limitations. G-d tells His children, “Make for Me a small opening, like the eye of a needle, and I will open for you an opening through which caravans can enter” (Midrash). We simply need to begin the process for G-d to help us attain that which we perceived as unattainable.

Antiochus IV outlawed three specific mitzvot and rendered their practice punishable by death. These mitzvot were “Shabbat,” which is a testimony to the fact that there is a Creator Who rested on the seventh day, “Blessing the New Month,” which determines when Jews can sanctify their holidays, and “Circumcision,” which imbues holiness into the human body. The spiritual ghetto that Antiochus IV tried to force on the Jewish people was a world without a Creator, time without sanctity and people with no connection to the Divine.

Blessings 1 & 2

Though a person might have a burning desire to be spiritual, a concrete action is needed to ignite a flame. Lacking the oil of genuine substance, one’s passion can quickly fade, failing to introduce any enduring light into the world. A life without mitzvot is like a wick without oil—it yields little or
no light.
There are nine branches on the Chanukah menorah, even though Chanukah is celebrated for eight days. The ninth branch is the shamash, the “servant” candle, which stands apart from the other candles. This candle is lit so that when we make use of the Chanukah light, we do so from the shamash, and not from the eight Chanukah flames. “ … These [eight Chanukah] flames are kodesh (holy). We are not permitted to make use of them, only to gaze at them” (Chanukah liturgy).
The Hebrew word kodesh literally means separate and beyond. In Judaism, although we can appreciate holy objects and observances on many levels, they are essentially higher than our finite understanding and perception, since they are rooted in the Infinite. It was this “holiness” that the Greeks failed to destroy. And it is this holiness that is manifested in the lights of Chanukah.
Mattisyahu the Kohen, and his five sons, began to challenge the Greek strongholds with a group of followers called the Maccabees. Historical sources estimate their numbers at 6,000, while Antiochus IV sent 40,000 troops to overwhelm them. Yehudit, a young widow, used cunning tactics to assassinate Holofernes, a vicious Seleucid general. After significant losses in the cities of Shchem and Beit Choron, Antiochus IV sent an additional 65,000 troops. The Maccabees fought bitter, yet intelligent, battles that are studied by military tacticians to this very day. After three years and thousands of lives, Israel was finally free.

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